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Jensen Beeler

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MotoGP

You Must See the Photos from Suzuki’s Saucy MotoGP Team Launch

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Usually when a MotoGP team launches its racing effort for the coming season, our focus is on the bike.

The machines launched at these debuts may not be the 2022-spec bikes we will see at the opening round in Qatar, but they offer some sizable two-wheeled pornography for us nonetheless.

And when it comes to the ECSTAR Suzuki Team, the Suzuki GSX-RR is one of our favorites each year, as the Japanese brand has managed to adapt the four-cylinder bike to be not only one of the most balanced on the grid, but also the most attractive.

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Racing

Officially Official: Danilo Petrucci Is Headed to MotoAmerica for 2022

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A move that has been rumored and tipped for some time now, Danilo Petrucci is headed to the MotoAmerica Superbike Championship for the 2022 season, on a Warhorse HSBK Ducati racing a Panigale V4.

The Italian rider all but confirmed the news when he was on our Paddock Pass Podcast, and even then the news was widely expected to come to reality soon, with Petrucci simply saying that the paperwork needed to be completed before he could make an announcement.

That day is here now though, and the Italian’s arrival in the MotoAmerica paddock is certainly going to help elevate the status of the series, not only with American fans, but also with international racing enthusiasts.

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A&R Pro

Harley-Davidson Sold 2,500 Pan Americas in the USA Last Year

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The debut of the Harley-Davidson Pan America 1250 was the headline event from 2021 – with the Bar & Shield brand offering its first motorcycle that truly deviated from the company’s cruiser lineup.

An integral part of Harley-Davidson’s “Hardwire” plan to restructure the company for the future, the Pan America 1250 is a conquest bike for the American bike-maker, with an eye on scooping up some sales from rival European brands.

Was it a success? That depends on whom you ask. American publications certainly seemed to think so, with the Pan America 1250 taking top honors in several of their shootouts last year. Meanwhile, the European press was less-enthused.

We will let you decide if home-team bias, on both sides of the pond, are at play there. For our money, we’d put the Ducati Multistrada V4 S in our garage before the Harley-Davidson Pan America 1250, but reasonable minds can easily disagree on this thought.

Shootouts don’t balance the account’s books however, and for the bean-counters, the true measure of a motorcycle’s success is on the showroom floor.

To that end, Harley-Davidson sold just over 2,500 units of its Pan America lineup in the USA last year, according to our Bothan spies.

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Rumors

KTM Is Bringing Two New 890 Models in February

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If you have been on the KTM website recently, and were wondering why the KTM 890 Duke R is still listed as a 2021 model, then we have an answer for you.

KTM has let slip that it plans on bringing not one, but two new KTM 890 Duke models to market in February, with the 2022 KTM 890 Duke R set to drop on February 7th.

The Austrian brand is also saying that a grand-prix inspired KTM 890 Duke GP is set to debut on February 22nd.

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Recall

Harley Recalls Pan America & Sportster S Models for Dash Issues

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If you have a Harley-Davidson Pan America 1250 or Harley-Davidson Sportster S in your garage, then your bike likely needs to head back to the dealership for this latest recall from the Bar & Shield brand.

Affecting 3,917 motorcycles, the recall from Harley-Davidson centers around the the instrument cluster, which may not display the speedometer and neutral indicator at startup when the module is below freezing temperatures.

Because of this issue, these motorcycles fail to comply with the requirements of Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard number 123, “Motorcycle Controls and Displays” and need to be recalled and fixed.

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Recall

BMW Motorrad Recalls 1,625 Bikes from its K1600 Lineup

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BMW of North America is recalling 1,625 units of its K1600 lineup because of a suspension issue. More specifically, the recall concerns the K1600GT, K1600GTL, and K1600B motorcycles, from the 2019 and 2020 model years.

According to the recall documents, the link strut on these models, which connects the rear suspension to the frame, may have insufficient strength due to a supplier not making the part to specification.

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Bikes

Any Excuse to Post Photos of the 2022 KTM RC16 MotoGP Race Bike…

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Any excuse to see some high-resolution photos of the KTM RC16 in its Tech3 livery – amiright???

The start of the 2022 MotoGP Championship season is rapidly approaching us, which means that the various grand prix teams are launching their racing efforts for the year.

My colleague David Emmett called the team launches glorified dog and pony shows, and that is largely because the bikes we see aren’t really the 2022-spec machines, and most of what is said at these events are platitudes written for sponsors.

I will retort though, that high-res images of some of the finest motorcycles on the planet never gets old, and the satellite Tech3 livery on the KTM RC16 is certainly a stunning combination that adds to the motolust.

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Recall

Husqvarna Dual-Sports Recalled Because of Brake Pad Clips…Again

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KTM North America is recalling nearly 400 Husqvarna dual-sport motorcycles because of problems with their brake pad retaining clips. Again…

For those keeping track, four months ago, KTM North America issued exactly this same recall (21V-678) for the same dual-sport models.

The recall specifically affects the Husqvarna FE 501s and FE 350s motorcycles, from the 2022 model year; and interestingly enough for extra moto-nerd points, the two bikes account for roughly a 50/50 split on the vehicles involved in this recall.

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